KJ Martin explains why he returned to Sixers on a deal in free agency

Forward KJ Martin explains his decision to return to the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.

The Philadelphia 76ers continued to work their roster into form with the re-signing of forward KJ Martin. The Sixers were able to bring back the athletic forward on a 2-year $16 million deal and continue to work on putting the right pieces around their star trio.

Martin was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in the James Harden deal and played in 58 games averaging 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds. He only played 12.3 minutes per game which is a far cry from the 28.0 minutes per game he played in the 2022-23 season with the Houston Rockets, but he makes his return to the Sixers.

Martin sat down with The Philadelphia Inquirer and explained his decision to return to the Sixers:

“The roster was open,” he said to The Inquirer at the NBA Summer League. “So it was obviously a possibility. My agent spoke to the front office, and they obviously spoke highly of me. So that was a big part of it, and looking where the dominoes fell, it just felt like the right situation [after Paul George] came and they really don’t have a lot of fours.”

Martin is a guy who can play off the ball and use his athleticism and basketball IQ to cut to the basket for easy looks. He can do what’s needed when a guy like Joel Embiid is being doubled. With the Sixers needing players of his caliber, he makes a lot of sense for Philadelphia with this current roster.